Vision II: Spirit of Rumi (by Graeme Revell)

Australian composer and keyboard artist Graeme Revell brings the words of the mystical Sufi Rumi to the groove, assisted by vocal artists from all over the world. As Enigma mixed Gregorian chants and sexuality in their ambient dance MCMXC A.D., so does Revell with Rumi’s esctatic poetry. Similar albums are Richard Souther’s Vision I and Illumination, both using the works of Hildegard von Bingen. Deep Forest used pygmy songs in the grooves. The familiar dance beats can be trance-inducing by themselves, and on Vision II, these are often morphed with gutsy Middle Eastern rhythms; seldom does Revell chose the more heady, yet stately, Sufi dance cadence.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the world’s prime exponent of qawwali, sings passionately on three tracks. Noa, an Israeli vocalist, sings a liquidy lullaby on “The Ocean,” which she translated into Hebrew. Lori Garson speaks the poems in the now-obligatory sexy voice and British accent (she is from the U.S.). Is the blatant orgasmic breathing necessary on “The Breath (The Color of Dying)”? On the plus side, this album offers many incredible performances and trippy tracks. Surely, it will serve to introduce a new audience to the works of Rumi and the notion of ecstatic spirituality. Great lyrics, after all.